Three Articles on Christian Worship

Transcription

1 Three Articles on Christian Worship Out of love for our Lord Jesus Christ and with a fervent desire to be faithful to him in our service as stewards of the mysteries of God entrusted to us (1 Cor 4:1), we humbly offer the following affirmative theses ( we confess ) and antitheses ( we reject ) concerning a number of points of contention among our pastors and churches regarding the theology and practice of Christian worship. We firmly believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are God s inspired, written Word, the sole source and norm of all Christian teaching. As ordained pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, we reaffirm our unreserved subscription to the Lutheran Confessions contained in The Book of Concord of A.D. 1580, that they are a true and faithful exposition of the Word of God and are binding upon us because they are in agreement with the Scriptures. In the spirit of our Lutheran Symbols, our testimony is presented in statu confessionis within the holy, Christian church. WE CONFESS: ARTICLE I: WORSHIP, I.E., DIVINE SERVICE 1. That the Lord speaks, and we listen. His Word gives what it promises, and faith receives what its Lord bestows (1 Sam 3:10; Heb 1:1, 2:1; AC XX, 23; Ap IV, 48). 2. That the chief article of the divine Word is the justification of sinners by the grace of God, for Christ s sake, received through faith alone (Lk 24:44-49; Jn 5:39-40; Rom 3:21-26; 1 Cor 2:2; AC IV; SA II, I, 1-3; SA II, II, 1, 7). 3. That such saving faith is imparted and sustained by the Holy Spirit only when the blessed Gospel is preached in its purity and the sacred sacraments are administered according to their institution by Christ (Rom 10:17; AC V; SA III, VIII, 3, 9-10). 4. That these precious means of grace are the sine qua non of corporate Christian worship, both because of Christ s evangelical mandate to preach the Word, to absolve, to baptize, and to receive his body and blood; and because of his eternal promise to be present with his church and to serve and bless his faithful gathered around pulpit, font and altar (Mt 26:26-28; Mt 28:16-20; Jn 20:19-23; AC VII, 1-2). 5. That this ministry of Word and sacrament is the true and chief worship. It is Gottesdienst, divine service. It is the service of God to us whereby he gives himself and his good gifts of forgiveness, life and salvation. The preaching of Christ s pure Gospel and the right administration of his sacraments are the heart of public worship, and faith s reception of God s gracious promises is the highest worship of God (Jn 6:29; Ap IV, 49-51, 154, 310; Ap XV, 42). 1

2 6. That such divine service is biblical, evangelical and catholic. It is grounded in and flows from the Word of God, and its heart is the proclamation of the pure gospel of the forgiveness of sins in Christ. It is, thus, truly catholic, truly Lutheran (Book of Concord, Preface, par. 3; Ap IV, 57). 7. That Christ s people, having received God s gracious gifts in the divine service, offer their sacrifice of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving. This sacrifice is the fruit of faith, produced by and through Christ in the Holy Spirit to the glory of God. Therefore, even such sacrifice is, indeed, God s work! (Jn 15:1-8; Rom 12:1; AC VI; LC I, 84). WE REJECT: 1. All false theologies and practices of worship which obscure or deny the chief article of justification by God s grace through faith in Christ (Ap IV, 2-10). 2. All false theologies and practices of worship which diminish divine service and elevate the sacrifice of man s prayer, praise and thanksgiving (Tr 44). 3. All anthropocentric emphases which seek either to exist alongside of or to replace the service of the living Savior given through the means of grace, received by faith in the midst of the gathered body of believers. All such emphases only bewilder the flock and obscure the honor and glory of Jesus Christ (Ap IV, 49-60). 4. All human attempts to deny or diminish divine service. All such worship is false and confuses the radical distinction between Law and Gospel. It makes what is God s work man s and, therefore, relies on our own preparations and works apart from the external Word (Gal 2:20-21; Phil 2:12-14; Eph 2:8-10; Col 3:16; AC V, 4; Ap IV, , 310). WE CONFESS: ARTICLE II: LITURGY 1. That the original meaning of the word liturgy (leitourgiva) for the early Christian communities of faith is its proper meaning for Christendom, namely, an act of public service for the sake of the world, for the sake of all creation (Ap XXIV, 78-83). 2. That this public service is not rendered, in the first place, by the clergy or by the laity, although they both participate in the liturgy according to their respective roles. Rather the chief Server in the liturgy, the real Liturgist, is our Lord Jesus Christ. He is truly present in the communal gathering of his people, continuing his high-priestly office through his called and ordained servants of the Word in the proclamation of the Gospel and the celebration of his sacraments. In that context and through these means, he distributes the salvation he won for the world. He enables us to receive his gifts in faith, and only from that faith to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving and to go forth into the world as his agents in the world (Lk 10:16; Mt 18:20; Lk 22:27; Heb 7:24; 10:19-25; AC V, 1-3; Ap XXVIII, 18-19). 2

3 3. That the liturgy, according to its Gospel sense, is none other than the divine service which Jesus, our God, provides for his church for the sake of all creation. As such, the liturgy is divine. It is not adiaphora; it is absolutely necessary for the life and salvation of the world. It is handed down from one generation to the next and is viable for all times, for all places, and for all peoples regardless of any differences, be they geographical, ethnic, cultural, social, etc. Our spiritual forefathers who wrote The Book of Concord were careful not to apply the word adiaphoron to the liturgy for this very reason (1 Cor 11:23; 15:3; Ap IV, 49; Ap XXIV, 80-81). 4. That it is spiritually and confessionally misleading to apply the word liturgy to the rites and ceremonies of the church s worship or to equate the former with the latter. 5. That catechesis is the vital link between evangelization and participation in, and reception of, the blessings of the divine liturgy (Mt 28:16-20; Ap XV, 49-52; Ap XXIV, 49-51). WE REJECT: 1. Any definition, discussion and use of the term liturgy which fails to emerge from and acknowledge its Gospel sense. 2. Any attempt to reduce the issue of liturgy to a mere matter of style versus substance rather than a doctrinal issue of greatest importance. For the liturgy concerns the Gospel itself and the deliverance of God s gracious forgiveness of sins, which is the glory and honor of Christ (Ap IV, ). 3. Αny teaching or practice which maintains that the divine liturgy is human and man-made, or that it is essentially a sacrifice which the church offers to God, or that it is the church s obedient ascription of praise to the majesty of a sovereign God (Ap XXIV, 59). 4. Any teaching or practice which argues Christ s liturgy (his public service to his people in communal worship) is culturally limited and bound, irrelevant from one society or from one group in a society to the next society/group, and hence in need of societal or cultural adaptation, i.e., a traditional divine service for believers and a contemporary divine service for unbelievers/seekers. WE CONFESS ARTICLE III: RITES, CEREMONIES, AND ADIAPHORA 1. That ecclesiastical rites and ceremonies are the component parts of the divine liturgy the words and practices involved in conducting the divine service. Rites generally refer to the words in the liturgy and their order in the service. Ceremonies generally refer to everything connected with conducting a rite, from bodily expressions (speaking, singing, kneeling, bowing, making the sign of the cross, etc.) to observing the church year, to the ornaments, symbols, and material objects employed in the church s worship (church buildings, the altar, crucifixes, candles, vestments, etc.). Ceremonies are solemn religious objects and actions (AC XXVI, 40-45; SD X, 8). 3

4 2. That rites and ceremonies are to be observed in public worship because the public ministry of the Word and the sacrament always involves something physical and concrete; and because humans are composed of body and soul so that what affects the one affects the other. Therefore, rites and ceremonies are an integral part of public worship (1 Cor 14:40; 1 Tim 4:4-5; AC XV, 1; Ap XXVIII, 17). 3. That rites and ceremonies in the church s public worship outwardly proclaim what the church believes and teaches, as the ancient Latin maxim declares: Lex supplicandi statuat legem credendi ( The rule of praying establishes the rule of believing ). As we worship so we believe, and as we believe so we worship (Rom 10:8-10; Col 3:16-17; Ap XXIV, 25-27, 34-35; Ap XXVII, 55-56). 4. That ecclesiastical rites and ceremonies in worship publicly testify to the truth as well as to error, assist the spiritual growth of the faithful and their instruction in the Scriptures, help safeguard purity of doctrine among God s people, and provide for good order and peace, evangelical decorum, dignity, reverence and devotion in the gathering of the church (1 Cor 11:26; AC Abuses, 6; AC XXIV, 2-4; AC XXVI, 40; AC XXVIII, 53-55; Ap VII/VIII, 33, 40; Ap XV, 1, 13, 20; Ap XXIV, 3; Ap XXVIII, 15; Ep X, 1). 5. That church usages which are neither commanded nor forbidden by the Word of God are adiaphora. Genuine adiaphora are not indifferent or unimportant, however, but are matters which are not subject either to a divine command or prohibition. For various reasons, an adiaphoron may, indeed, be important and very good (Acts 16:3; Gal 2:1-5; Ap XV, 52; Ep X, 2-3; SD X, 5) 6. That while absolute uniformity in human rites and ceremonies is not necessary for the true unity of the Christian church, the churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Reformation emphatically align themselves with the retainment and use of the traditional rites and ceremonies of the church catholic. Observance of such traditional church usages is urged on the basis of the Gospel and our new life of faith, freedom and love in Jesus Christ (1 Cor 14:33-38; AC VII, 3-4; AC Faith and Doctrine Conclusion, 3; AC XXIV, 1-2; Ap XV, 21, 38-40, 44; Ap XXIV, 1; Ep X, 5). 7. That while the community of God in every place and at every time has the authority to change, reduce, or to increase ecclesiastical rites and ceremonies according to its circumstances, such liberty should not be abused but exercised moderately. Unnecessary innovations should be avoided, and nothing should be changed in the accustomed rites without good reason lest frivolity replace reverence, offense be given, disorder created, sectarianism promoted, historic continuity severed, and the doctrinal catholicity of the Church of the Augsburg Confession made doubtful (Gal 5:1, 13; AC XXVI, 40; Ap XV, 21, 38-42; Ep X, 4-5; SD X, 9, 30). 8. That in times of persecution or when the confession of the pure Gospel and the faith of God s people are at stake, rites and ceremonies under dispute are no longer adiaphora (Acts 16:3; Gal 2:1-5; Ep X, 6, 12; SD X, 5, 10-14). 4

5 WE REJECT: 1. Any suggestion that human rites and ceremonies are necessary for salvation, for making satisfaction for sins, for propitiating God and meriting his grace (Gal 4:8-10; Ap XV, 3-5, 9, 29, 31; Ap XXIV, 4-6; SA III, XV, 1-2). 2. The notion that worship consists in the observance, in and of itself, of ecclesiastical rites and ceremonies (AC XXVIII, 52; Ap VII/VIII, 32). 3. Any demand for uniformity in church usages on the basis of legal compulsion, and any condemnation of churches because they have fewer or more external ceremonies so long as there is mutual agreement in doctrine in all its articles as well as in the right administration of the holy sacraments (AC XXVI, 27-29, 39; Ep X, 7; SD X, 31). 4. Any desire and effort to repristinate church rites of the past solely for the sake of repristination and not in the service of the Gospel; or to deny changes and modifications to ecclesiastical usages when they please God and edify his church (Ap XXIV, 40-41; Ap VII/VIII, 33; Ap XXVIII, 6; Ep X, 4; SD X, 9). 5. The denial that rites and ceremonies have any direct bearing on Christ s service to his church in public worship (LC I, 94). 6. Any discussion of and decision regarding church usages which fail to recognize and esteem the large amount of scriptural texts and references within the traditional service rites handed down from church generation to generation, to wit: Invocation Matthew 28:19; Confession and Absolution Psalm 32:5, Psalm 124:8, John 20:19-23, 1 John 1:8-9; Kyrie Luke 18:38; Hymn of Praise Luke 2:14, Revelation 4:11, 5:9-10, 13; Salutation Ruth 2:4; Offertory Psalm 51:10-12; Lord s Prayer Matthew 6:9-13; Sanctus Psalm 118:26, Isaiah 6:2-3, Matthew 21:9, John 12:13; Verba Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25; Agnus Dei John 1:29; Nunc Dimittis Luke 2:29-32; Benediction Numbers 6:24-26; and also the various Prayer Offices, Introits and Graduals from the Psalms and the New Testament. 7. Any discussion of and decision regarding church usages which betray a creative, individualistic, and culturally conditioned approach to the same at the expense of the corporate and transcultural perspective and practice of the universal church (2 Cor 4:1-6; Ap VII/VIII, 33). 8. Any innovation and departure from the historic rites of the Christian church which rationalize the same on the basis of an alleged need for more attractive, user-friendly, attention-keeping, more effective, more relevant and more contemporary worship (Rom 12:2; Gal 1:10-12; SA III, VIII, 3, 5-6, 9-10). 9. The shameful neglect, wherever it exists, on the part of the church s pastors to grow in their understanding of and appreciation for ecclesiastical rites and ceremonies and to catechize and instruct God s people in the meaning and proper use of such rites and ceremonies (1 Tim 4:13-16; 2 Tim 4:1-5; Ti 2:1; AC XV, 2; AC XXVI, 41; SC Preface, 4-6). 5

6 10. Any irresponsible and inaccurate application of the adiaphoristic principle in discussing and rendering decisions regarding church usages (AC XXVI, 41). 11. Any posture, explicit or implicit, which suggests that Evangelical Lutheran pastors, despite their ordination vows to abide by the Lutheran Confessions, are free to disregard the wise and godly counsel of our Confessions to retain historic church usages and to maintain uniformity in rites and ceremonies (AC XXVI, 40). 12. Any posture or practice which fails or refuses to recognize the identity and integrity of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in all its teachings and practices as a confessing movement within the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church (Nicene Creed; AC Conclusion, 4-7). It is our prayer that under God s blessing the witness offered in the above articles will assist our walking together as Christian brothers and pastors in our beloved synod, to the growth of Christ s kingdom of grace and to the honor of him who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. Nihil contra scripturam aut ecclesiam catholicam. Friday of Pentecost XIII, A.D August 22, 1997 Rev. Stephen F. Long, Pastor St. John Lutheran Church Taylor, Michigan Rev. Dr. Frank J. Pies, Pastor Our Savior Ev. Lutheran Church Hartland, Michigan Rev. Jon D. Vieker, Pastor St. Mark s Lutheran Church West Bloomfield, Michigan Rev. Rodney E. Zwonitzer, Pastor Emmanuel Lutheran Church Dearborn, Michigan 6

7 Addendum of Scriptural and Confessional References All scriptural references are quoted from the New International Version, unless otherwise noted. All references to The Book of Concord are quoted from the Tappert Edition, unless otherwise noted. Emphasis has been added to those portions of the confessional references especially pertaining to the points at hand. 1 Cor 4:1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God (NKJV). WE CONFESS: ARTICLE I: WORSHIP, I.E., DIVINE SERVICE 1. 1 Sam 3:10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, Samuel! Samuel! Then Samuel said, Speak, for your servant is listening. Heb 1:1, 2:1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways... We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. AC XX, 23 (German) Instruction is also given among us to show that the faith here spoken of is not that possessed by the devil and the ungodly, who also believe the history of Christ s suffering and his resurrection from the dead, but we mean such true faith as believes that we receive grace and forgiveness of sin through Christ. Ap IV, 48 Our opponents imagine that faith is only historical knowledge and teach that it can exist with mortal sin. And so they say nothing about faith by which, as Paul says so often, men are justified, because those who are accounted righteous before God do not live in mortal sin. The faith that justifies, however, is no mere historical knowledge, but the firm acceptance of God s offer promising forgiveness of sins and justification. To avoid the impression that it is merely knowledge, we add that to have faith means to want and to accept the promised offer of forgiveness of sins and justification. 2. Lk 24:44-49 [Jesus] said to them, This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. Jn 5:39-40 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. Rom 3:21-26 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. 1 Cor 2:2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 7

8 AC IV (German) It is also taught among us that we cannot obtain forgiveness of sin and righteousness before God by our own merits, works, or satisfactions, but that we receive forgiveness of sin and become righteous before God by grace, for Christ s sake, through faith, when we believe that Christ suffered for us and that for his sake our sin is forgiven and righteousness and eternal life are given to us. For God will regard and reckon this faith as righteousness, as Paul says in Romans 3:21-26 and 4:5. SA II, I, 1-3 The first and chief article is this, that Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, was put to death for our trespasses and raised again for our justification (Rom. 4:25). He alone is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). God has laid upon him the iniquities of us all (Isa. 53:6). Moreover, all have sinned, and they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, by his blood (Rom. 3:23-25). SA II, II, 1, 7 The Mass in the papacy must be regarded as the greatest and most horrible abomination because it runs into direct and violent conflict with this fundamental article. Yet, above and beyond all others, it has been the supreme and most precious of the papal idolatries, for it is held that this sacrifice or work of the Mass (even when offered by an evil scoundrel) delivers men from their sins, both here in this life and yonder in purgatory, although in reality this can and must be done by the Lamb of God alone, as has been stated above. There is to be no concession or compromise in this article either, for the first article does not permit it.... The Mass is and can be nothing else than a human work, even a work of evil scoundrels (as the cannon and all books on the subject declare), for by means of the Mass men try to reconcile themselves and others to God and obtain and merit grace and the forgiveness of sins. It is observed for this purpose when it is best observed. What other purpose could it have? Therefore, it should be condemned and must be abolished because it is a direct contradiction to the fundamental article, which asserts that it is not the celebrant of a Mass and what he does but the Lamb of God and the Son of God who takes away our sin. 3. Rom 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. AC V (German) To obtain such faith God instituted the office of the ministry, that is, provided the Gospel and the sacraments. Through these, as through means, he gives the Holy Spirit, who works faith, when and where he pleases, in those who hear the Gospel. And the Gospel teaches that we have a gracious God, not by our own merits but by the merit of Christ, when we believe this. Condemned are the Anabaptists and others who teach that the Holy Spirit comes to us through our own preparations, thoughts, and works without the external word of the Gospel. AC V (Latin) In order that we may obtain this faith, the ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and the sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Spirit is given, and the Holy Spirit produces faith, where and when it pleases God, in those who hear the Gospel. That is to say, it is not on account of our own merits but on account of Christ that God justifies those who believe that they are received into favor for Christ s sake. Gal. 3:14, That we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Our churches condemn the Anabaptists and others who think that the Holy Spirit comes to men without the external Word, through their own preparations and works. SA III, VIII, 3, 9-10 In these matters, which concern the external, spoken Word, we must hold firmly to the conviction that God gives no one his Spirit or grace except through or with the external Word which comes before. Thus we shall be protected from the enthusiasts that is, from the spiritualists who boast that they possess the Spirit without and before the Word and who therefore judge, interpret, and twist the Scriptures or spoken Word according to their pleasure.... In short, enthusiasm clings to Adam and his descendants from the beginning to the end of the world. It is a poison implanted and inoculated in man by the old dragon, and it is the source, strength, and power of all heresy, including that of the papacy and Mohammedanism. Accordingly, we should and must constantly maintain that God will not deal with us except through his external Word and sacrament. Whatever is attributed to the Spirit apart from such Word and sacrament is of the devil. 4. Mt 26:26-28 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take and eat; this is my body. Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, 8

9 Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Mt 28:16-20 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Jn 20:19-23 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you! After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. And with that he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. AC VII (German) It is also taught among us that one holy Christian church will be and remain forever. This is the assembly of all believers among who the Gospel is preached in its purity and the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel. For it is sufficient for the true unity of the Christian church that the Gospel be preached in conformity with a pure understanding of it and that the sacraments be administered in accordance with the divine Word. 5. Jn 6:29 Jesus answered, The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent. Ap IV, 49-51, 154, 310 It is easy to determine the difference between this faith and the righteousness of the law. Faith is that worship which receives God s offered blessing; the righteousness of the law is that worship which offers God our own merits. It is by faith that God wants to be worshiped, namely, that we receive from him what he promises and offers. Paul clearly shows that faith does not simply mean historical knowledge but is a firm acceptance of the promise (Rom. 4:16): That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may be guaranteed. For he says that only faith can accept the promise. He therefore correlates and connects promise and faith.... And the account here shows what he calls love. The woman came, believing that she should seek the forgiveness of sins from Christ. This is the highest way of worshiping Christ. Nothing greater could she ascribe to him. By looking for the forgiveness of sins from him, she truly acknowledged him as the Messiah. Truly to believe means to think of Christ in this way, and in this way to worship and take hold of him. Moreover, Christ used the word love not toward the woman but against the Pharisee, because Christ contrasted the whole act of reverence of the Pharisee with that of the woman. He chides the Pharisee for not acknowledging him as the Messiah, though he did show him the outward courtesies due a guest and a great and holy man. He points to the woman and praises her reverence, her anointing and crying, all of which were a sign and confession of faith that she was looking for the forgiveness of sins from Christ. It was not without reason that this truly powerful example moved Christ to chide the Pharisee, this wise and honest but unbelieving man. He charges him with irreverence and reproves him with the example of the woman. What a disgrace that an uneducated woman should believe God, while a doctor of the law does not believe or accept the Messiah or seek from him the forgiveness of sins and salvation!... Thus the service and worship of the Gospel is to receive good things from God, while the worship of the law is to offer and present our goods to God. We cannot offer anything to God unless we have first been reconciled and reborn. The greatest possible comfort comes from this doctrine that the highest worship in the Gospel is the desire to receive forgiveness of sins, grace, and righteousness. About this worship Christ speaks in John 6:40, This is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life. And the Father says (Matt. 17:5), This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him. Ap XV, 42 Among our opponents, there are many regions where no sermons are preached during the whole year, except in Lent. But the chief worship of God is the preaching of the Gospel. When our opponents do preach, they talk about human traditions, the worship of the saints, and similar trifles. This the people rightly despise and walk out on them after the reading of the Gospel. A few of the better ones are now beginning to talk about good works, but they say nothing about the righteousness of faith or about faith in Christ or about comfort for the conscience. In their polemics they even attack this most salutary part of the Gospel. 9

10 6. Book of Concord, Preface, par. 3 Subsequently many churches and schools committed themselves to this confession as the contemporary symbol of their faith in the chief articles in controversy over against both the papacy and all sorts of factions. They referred and appealed to it without either controversy or doubt in a Christian and unanimous interpretation thereof. They have held fast and loyally to the doctrine that is contained in it, that is based solidly on the divine Scriptures, and that is also briefly summarized in the approved ancient symbols, recognizing the doctrine as the ancient consensus which the universal and orthodox church of Christ has believed, fought for against many heresies and errors, and repeatedly affirmed. Ap IV, 57 This service and worship is especially praised throughout the prophets and the Psalms. Even though the law does not teach the free forgiveness of sins, the patriarchs knew the promise of the Christ, that for his sake God intended to forgive sins. As they understood that the Christ would be the price for our sins, they knew that our works could not pay so high a price. Therefore they received free mercy and the forgiveness of sins by faith, just as the saints in the New Testament. 7. Jn 15:1-8 I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. Rom 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God this is your spiritual act of worship. AC VI (German) It is also taught among us that such faith should produce good fruits and good works and that we must do all such good works as God has commanded, but we should do them for God s sake and not place our trust in them as if thereby to merit favor before God. For we receive forgiveness of sin and righteousness through faith in Christ, as Christ himself says, So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, We are unworthy servants (Luke 17:10). The Fathers also teach thus, for Ambrose says, It is ordained of God that whoever believes in Christ shall be saved, and he shall have forgiveness of sins, not through works but through faith alone, without merit. LC I, 84 Secondly and most especially, we keep holy days so that people may have time and opportunity, which otherwise would not be available, to participate in public worship, that is, that they may assemble to hear and discuss God s Word and then praise God with song and prayer. WE REJECT: 1. Ap IV, 2-10 In this controversy the main doctrine of Christianity is involved; when it is properly understood, it illumines and magnifies the honor of Christ and brings to pious consciences the abundant consolation that they need. We therefore ask His Imperial Majesty kindly to hear us out on this important issue. For since they understand neither the forgiveness of sins nor faith nor grace nor righteousness, our opponents confuse this doctrine miserably, they obscure the glory and the blessings of Christ, and they rob pious consciences of the consolation offered them in Christ. To substantiate our Confession and to refute the objections of our opponents, we shall have to say a few things by way of preface so that the sources of both kinds of doctrine, the opponents and our own, might be recognized. All Scripture should be divided into these two chief doctrines, the law and the promises. In some places it presents the law. In others it presents the promise of Christ; this it does either when it promises that the Messiah will come and promises forgiveness of sins, justification, and eternal life for his sake, or when, in the New Testament, the Christ who came promises forgiveness of sins, justification, and eternal life. By law in this discussion we mean the commandments of the Decalogue, wherever they appear in the Scriptures. For the present we are saying nothing about the ceremonial and civil laws of Moses. Of these two doctrines our opponents select the law and by it they seek forgiveness of sins and 10

11 justification. For to some extent human reason naturally understands the law since it has the same judgment naturally written in the mind. But the Decalogue does not only require external works that reason can somehow perform. It also requires other works far beyond the reach of reason, like true fear of God, true love of God, true prayer to God, true conviction that God hears prayer, and the expectation of God s help in death and all afflictions. Finally, it requires obedience to God in death and all afflictions, lest we try to flee these things or turn away when God imposes them. Here the scholastics have followed the philosophers. Thus they teach only the righteousness of reason that is, civil works and maintain that without the Holy Spirit reason can love God above all things. As long as a man s mind is at rest and he does not feel God s wrath or judgment, he can imagine that he wants to love God and that he wants to do good for God s sake. In this way the scholastics teach men to merit the forgiveness of sins by doing what is within them, that is, if reason in its sorrow over sin elicits an act of love to God or does good for God s sake. Because this view naturally flatters men, it has produced and increased many types of worship in the church, like monastic vows and the abuses of the Mass; someone has always been making up this or that form of worship or devotion with this view in mind. 2. Tr 44 The doctrine of repentance has been completely corrupted by the pope and his adherents, who teach that sins are forgiven on account of the worth of our work. Then they bid us to doubt whether forgiveness is obtained. Nowhere do they teach that sins are forgiven freely for Christ s sake and that by this faith we obtain the remission of sins. Thus they obscure the glory of Christ, deprive consciences of a firm consolation, and abolish true worship (that is, the exercise of faith struggling against despair). 3. AC IV, It is easy to determine the difference between this faith and the righteousness of the law. Faith is that worship which receives God s offered blessing; the righteousness of the law is that worship which offers God our own merits. It is by faith that God wants to be worshiped, namely, that we receive from him what he promises and offers. Paul clearly shows that faith does not simply mean historical knowledge but is a firm acceptance of the promise (Rom. 4:16): That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may be guaranteed. For he says that only faith can accept the promise. He therefore correlates and connects promise and faith. It will be easy to determine what faith is if we pay attention to the article of the Creed on the forgiveness of sins. So it is not enough to believe that Christ was born, suffered, and was raised unless we add this article, the purpose of the history, the forgiveness of sins. The rest must be integrated with this article, namely, that for Christ s sake and not because of our own merits the forgiveness of sins is bestowed upon us. For why did Christ have to be offered for our sins if our merits make satisfaction for them? In speaking of justifying faith, therefore, we must remember that these three elements always belong together: the promise itself, the fact that the promise is free, and the merits of Christ as the price and propitiation. The promise is accepted by faith; the fact that it is free excludes our merits and shows that the blessing is offered only by mercy; the merits of Christ are the price because there must be a certain propitiation for our sins. Scripture contains many pleas for mercy, and the holy Fathers often say that we are saved by mercy. And so at every mention of mercy we must remember that this requires faith, which accepts the promise of mercy. Similarly, at every mention of faith we are also thinking of its object, the promised mercy. For faith does not justify or save because it is a good work in itself, but only because it accepts the promised mercy. This service and worship is especially praised throughout the prophets and the Psalms. Even though the law does not teach the free forgiveness of sins, the patriarchs knew the promise of the Christ, that for his sake God intended to forgive sins. As they understood that the Christ would be the price for our sins, they knew that our works could not pay so high a price. Therefore they received free mercy and the forgiveness of sins by faith, just as the saints in the New Testament. The frequent references to mercy and faith in the Psalms and the prophets belong here; for example, If thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, Lord, who shall stand? (Ps. 130:3). Here the psalmist confesses his sins, but he does not lay claim to any merit of his own. He adds, There is forgiveness with thee (v. 4). Here he comforts himself with his trust in God s mercy. He quotes the promise: My soul waits for his word, my soul hopes in the Lord, that is, because thou has promised the forgiveness of sins I am sustained by thy promise. Therefore the patriarchs, too, were justified not by the law but by the promise and faith. It is strange that our opponents make so little of faith when they see it praised everywhere as the foremost kind of worship, as in Ps. 50:15: Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me. This is how God wants to be known and worshiped, that we accept his blessings and receive them because of his mercy rather than because of our own merits. This is the greatest consolation in all afflictions, and our opponents take it away when they despise and disparage faith and teach men to deal with God only by works and merits. 11

12 4. Gal 2:20-21 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, Phil 2:12-14 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing... Eph 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. AC V, 4 (German) Condemned are the Anabaptists and others who teach that the Holy Spirit comes to us through our own preparations, thoughts, and works without the external word of the Gospel. Ap IV, , 310 In this way, therefore, he praises her entire act of worship, as the Scriptures often do when they include many things in one phrase. Later we shall take up similar passages, like Luke 11:41, Give alms; and behold, everything is clean. He demands not only alms, but also the righteousness of faith. In the same way he says here, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, because she loved much, that is, because she truly worshiped me with faith and with the acts and signs of faith. He includes the whole act of worship; but meanwhile he teaches that it is faith that properly accepts the forgiveness of sins, though love, confession, and other good fruits ought to follow. He does not mean that these fruits are the price of propitiation which earns the forgiveness of sins that reconciles us to God. We are debating about an important issue, the honor of Christ and the source of sure and firm consolation for pious minds whether we should put our trust in Christ or in our own works. If we put it in our works, we rob Christ of his honor as mediator and propitiator. And in the judgment of God we shall learn that this trust was vain and our consciences will then plunge into despair. For if the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation do not come freely for Christ s sake, but for the sake of our love, nobody will have the forgiveness of sins unless he keeps the whole law, because the law does not justify so long as it can accuse us. Justification is reconciliation for Christ s sake. Therefore it is clear that we are justified by faith, for it is sure that we receive the forgiveness of sins by faith alone. Now let us reply to the objection of the opponents referred to above. They are right when they say that love is the keeping of the law, and obedience to the law certainly is righteousness. But they are mistaken when they think that we are justified by the law. We are not justified by the law; but we receive the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation by faith for Christ s sake, not for the sake of love or the keeping of the law. From this it necessarily follows that we are justified by faith in Christ.... Thus the service and worship of the Gospel is to receive good things from God, while the worship of the law is to offer and present our goods to God. We cannot offer anything to God unless we have first been reconciled and reborn. The greatest possible comfort comes from this doctrine that the highest worship in the Gospel is the desire to receive forgiveness of sins, grace, and righteousness. About this worship Christ speaks in John 6:40, This is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life. And the Father says (Matt. 17:5), This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him. 12

13 WE CONFESS: ARTICLE II: LITURGY 1. Ap XXIV, Our opponents also refer us to philology. From the names for the Mass they take arguments which do not deserve a lengthy discussion. It does not follow from the fact that the Mass is called a sacrifice that it grants grace ex opere operato or that it merits the forgiveness of sins for those to whom it is transferred. The Greeks call the Mass liturgy, and this, they say, means sacrifice. Why do they not mention the old term communion, which shows that formerly the Mass was the communion of many? But let us talk about the term liturgy. It does not really mean a sacrifice but a public service. Thus it squares with our position that a minister who consecrates shows forth the body and blood of the Lord to the people, just as a minister who preaches shows forth the gospel to the people, as Paul says (1 Cor. 4:1), This is how one should regard us, as ministers of Christ and dispensers of the sacraments of God, that is, of the Word and sacraments; and 2 Cor. 5:20, We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. Thus the term liturgy squares well with the ministry. It is an old word, ordinarily used in public law. To the Greeks it meant public duties, like the taxes collected for equipping a fleet. As Demosthenes oration Leptines shows, it is completely taken up with public duties and immunities: He will say that some unworthy men have found an immunity and have avoided public duty. They used it this way in the time of the Romans, as the rescript of Pertinax on the law of immunity shows: Even though the number of children does not excuse parents from public duties. A commentator on Demosthenes says that liturgy is a kind of tax to pay for the games, ships, care of the gymnasium, and similar public responsibilities. In 2 Cor. 9:12 Paul uses this word for a collection. Taking this collection not only supplies what the saints need but also causes many to thank God more abundantly. In Phil. 2:25 he calls Epaphroditus a minister to my need, which surely does not mean a sacrificer. But further proofs are unnecessary since anyone who reads the Greek authors can find examples everywhere of their use of liturgy to mean public duties or ministrations. Because of the diphthong, philologists do not derive it from lite, which means prayers, but from leita, which means public goods; thus the verb means to care for or to administer public goods. 2. Lk 10:16 He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me. Mt 18:20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. Lk 22:27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. Heb 7:24 But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Heb 10:19-25 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching. AC V, 1-3 (German) To obtain such faith God instituted the office of the ministry, that is, provided the Gospel and the sacraments. Through these, as through means, he gives the Holy Spirit, who works faith, when and where he pleases, in those who hear the Gospel. And the Gospel teaches that we have a gracious God, not by our own merits but by the merit of Christ, when we believe this. Ap XXVIII, For Christ wants to assure us, as was necessary, that the Word is efficacious when it is delivered by men and that we should not look for another word from heaven. He who hears you hears me cannot be applied to traditions For Christ requires them to teach in such a way that he might be heard, because he says, hears me. Therefore he wants his voice, His Word to be heard, not human traditions. Thus these asses take a statement that supports our position and contains the deepest kind of comfort and teaching, and they misapply it to these trifles, distinction of foods and clothing and the like. 13

14 3. 1 Cor 11:23; 15:3 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread... For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, Ap IV, 49 It is easy to determine the difference between this faith and the righteousness of the law. Faith is that worship which receives God s offered blessing; the righteousness of the law is that worship which offers God our own merits. It is by faith that God wants to be worshiped, namely, that we receive from him what he promises and offers. Ap XXIV, It does not really mean a sacrifice but a public service. Thus it squares with our position that a minister who consecrates shows forth the body and blood of the Lord to the people, just as a minister who preaches shows forth the gospel to the people, as Paul says (1 Cor. 4:1), This is how one should regard us, as ministers of Christ and dispensers of the sacraments of God, that is, of the Word and sacraments; and 2 Cor. 5:20, We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. Thus the term liturgy squares well with the ministry. 5. Mt 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Ap XV, This subject of traditions involves many difficult and controversial questions, and we know from actual experience that traditions are real snares for consciences. When they are required as necessary, they bring exquisite torture to a conscience that has omitted some observance. On the other hand, their abrogation involves its own difficulties and problems. But our case is plain and simple because our opponents condemn us for teaching that human traditions do not merit the forgiveness of sins, and they require so-called universal rites as necessary for salvation. Here Paul is our constant champion; everywhere he insists that these observances neither justify nor are necessary over and above the righteousness of faith. Nevertheless, liberty in these matters should be used moderately, lest the weak be offended and become more hostile to the true teaching of the Gospel because of an abuse of liberty. Nothing should be changed in the accustomed rites without good reason, and to foster harmony those ancient customs should be kept which can be kept without sin or without great disadvantage. This is what we teach. In this very assembly we have shown ample evidence of our willingness to observe adiaphora with others, even where this involved some disadvantage to us. We believed that the greatest possible public harmony, without offense to consciences, should be preferred to all other advantages, but we shall have more to say about this whole issue when we discuss vows and ecclesiastical authority. Ap XXIV, If the use of the sacrament were the daily sacrifice, we could lay more claim to observing it than our opponents because in their churches mercenary priests use the sacrament. In our churches the use is more frequent and more devout. It is the people who use it, and this only when they have been instructed and examined. They are instructed about the proper use of the sacrament as a seal and witness of the free forgiveness of sins and as an admonition to timid consciences really to trust and believe that their sins are freely forgiven. Thus, since we keep both the proclamation of the Gospel and the proper use of the sacraments, we still have the daily sacrifice. And as for outward appearances, our church attendance is greater than theirs. Practical and clear sermons hold an audience, but neither the people nor the clergy have ever understood our opponents teaching. The real adornment of the churches is godly, practical, and clear teaching, the godly use of the sacraments, ardent prayer, and the like. Candles, golden vessels, and ornaments like that are fitting, but they are not the peculiar adornment of the church. If our opponents center their worship in such things rather than in the proclamation of the Gospel, in faith, and in its struggles, they should be classified with those whom Daniel (11:38) describes as worshiping their God with gold and silver. 14